Act of Valour (15, 109mins, Momentum)
This admittedly eye-catching, explosive and spectacular film shows many things, that Navy SEALs are tough, tough, tough (so much so that real life serving SEALs were cast in the movie as mere actors were not enough to accurately portray them on screen), that US jingoistic attitudes know no boundaries, and that action films often lead to the worst dialogue in the movies. It’s still spectacular, though, did we say that already?
Wild Bill (15, 98mins, The Works)
Dexter Fletcher (Soap in Lock, Stock and Two Smoking Barrels) makes his directorial debut here in a gritty London-set crime flick. So far, so guy Ritchie, but Fletcher, who co-writes too, injects enough realism to its story of a wild man – the Bill of the title – just out of jail who tries to rebuild bridges with his two young sons, only to find that people from his criminal past are never far away. It balances the humour and drama, features a stand out turn from Charlie Creed-Miles as the reformed Bill, and has an explosive climax that lingers long after the lights are up. Let’s just say that Bill would kick the shit out of Brad Pitt’s pikey pugilist in Snatch.
Check out the full review of Wild Bill here.
The Hunger Games (12A, 142mins, Lionsgate)
Adapted from a best-selling teen and young adult series, this is expected to be the next Twilight. While not exactly revelatory – it is Battle Royale and The Running Man repackaged for an audience not old enough to see them were they to be re-released in the cinema – it packs far more of a punch than its toothless vamp cousins. Jennifer Lawrence plays Katniss, a young girl who is chosen to compete in the titular games, a to-the-death battle which plays out as a violent reality TV show in a near future rocked by social and economic divisions and dodgy fashions.
For our full review head on over here.
